'Chocolate good for the heart' claims sadly too good to be true

Conclusion Health stories that suggest eating or drinking something we like, whether it's chocolate or wine, are always popular. But they don't really tell us anything we don't know already. Certain foods may have a small impact on certain types of diseases, but it's the overall diet that counts. Previous studies have already suggested that the antioxidant properties of cocoa could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, so it's surprising that this study focused on one particular cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation. AF is a common condition that affects heart rate, often causing a faster than normal, irregular rhythm. It isn't usually life-threatening, although you may need treatment to reduce risk of linked conditions such as stroke. While the study had some strengths, such as being very large, using a reliable database and taking account of a number of confounding factors, this type of study cannot show that chocolate actually prevents AF. It's quite possible that other factors could be more important than diet. A plausible interpretation of this study is not that eating chocolate prevents AF, but that people with AF (or associated risk factors) avoid eating chocolate, possibly on the advice of their doctor. It's worth remembering that – as well as cocoa – chocolate contains a lot of fat and sugar. In the study, one portion of chocolate was 30g. There's nothing wrong with eating a small amount of chocolate as part of a healthy, balanced diet – but hoping t...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news